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AssetCo PLC (LON:ASTO) shares rocketed higher after a consortium of investors took at 29.8% stake in the cash shell, buying shares at 475p each.
The company said Martin Gilbert, Peter McKellar, various associates and funds managed by Toscafund Asset Management have bought into the company.
Gilbert, the founder of Aberdeen Asset Management, and McKellar, Aberdeen’s former global head of private markets, are expected to join the board as non-executive directors of the company.
Assetco will pursue additional investment opportunities, particularly in the financial services sector, it said in a statement.
“We believe that the next few years will see significant investment opportunities in the financial services sector as some of the pressures that the industry faces from regulation, fee pressure, technology and changing client preferences force further, and arguably a faster pace of change,” said Gilbert.
“We believe that Assetco can be a platform to make strategic investments across the sector and to bring active management to such opportunities.”
Assetco shares jumped 82% to 860p by midday on Monday.
Last Friday, AssetCo announced it had bought a 2.9% stake in River & Mercantile Group PLC (LON:RIV), the asset management group which Gilbert joined the board as deputy chairman last week.
After founding Aberdeen in 1983, Gilbert led the IPO in 1991 and oversaw years of acquisitive growth and a growing focus on emerging markets, culminating in the £11bn all-share merger with Standard Life in 2017 to create Standard Life Aberdeen PLC (LON:SLA), Europe’s second-largest fund manager.
Gilbert has bought a 9.9% stake in Assetco, while Toscafund Asset Management, which he also chairs, has a 12.2% holding. McKellar owns 3.4% and associates have 4.2%.
Harwood Capital, founded by Christopher Mills, has seen its stake reduce from 45% to 26%.
Gilbert was reported by Sky News to have decided to use Assetco as his corporate vehicle following discussions with Mills.
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